Cenizas del cielo (Ashes from the Sky)

Jose Antonio Quieros's drama Cenizas del cielo (Ashes from the Sky) is a naturalistic comedy about the love of nature and the inability of man to conquer the forces of development and stars Celso Bugallo as Federico, a gentleman who has spent the better part of thirty years living in a quaint, lyrical valley all but ruined by the presence of one element - the local nuclear power plant. 

After three decades of protesting the plant's presence in vain, he receives word of the Kyoto Agreement, a new law that may just play an instrumental role in closing the plant down.

This is a contradictory story in which there is no unique truth. In 'Ashes from the sky ' there are small victories and small failures. Many berets in this Asturian film; highly recommended!

Black Ink & Beret

Sometimes I come across the strangest pictures while searching for beret related material.

One internet surf rewarded me with these two weird pictures; a white man with his face painted in black ink. No explanation, no text. With beret though, that makes it a little more acceptable...

Zurückgewiesen

"Zurückgewiesen" (Rejected")

 

"He took the two day entrance exam for the academy's school of painting. Confident and self assured, he awaited the result, quite sure he would get in. But failure struck him like a bolt of lightning. His test drawings were judged unsatisfactory and he was not admitted. Badly shaken by this rejection, he went back to the academy to get an explanation and was told his drawings showed a lack of talent for artistic painting, notably a lack of appreciation of the human form.

One year later, In October, he tried for the second time to gain admission to the Academy of Fine Arts. However, his test drawings were judged as so poor that he was not even allowed to take the formal exam. It was a bitter disappointment and effectively left him on the outside looking in at the artistic community..."

The former aspiring artist went on to become one of the most notorious mass murderers in the history of civilization.

Hemingway Look-Alikes

Did you pack my heavy cable knit wool turtle knit sweater? How about my 50 SPF sun block and bathing suit? Sun block and wool turtle neck can only mean one thing, it’s the third week in July in Key West, and time for the annual Hemingway Day’s Festival and look-alike contest. 

Interestingly, not only did Hemingway leave Key West every year in the summer months to escape the heat, he also wouldn’t have been caught dead in a turtle neck sweater there in July. But every year you’ll see white-bearded, heavy men strutting around in the oppressive heat sporting one while trying to look like the Sloppy Joe’s logo, taken from the famous Yosuf Karsh photo.  

Now lets set things straight, Mr. Karsh is innocent of any wrong doing here.  I’m sure he had no idea perfectly intelligent men would ever do such a silly thing.  So there must be, most definitely, a sadistic, diabolical madman loose at Sloppy Joe’s ranking right up there with the Marquee De Sade.   Who else could have thought up such a thing?

The other ironic thing is that Hemingway was neither heavy, nor white-bearded when he lived in Key West. Rather, he was a slender, dark haired man sporting just a mustache, yet whenever a contestant tries for that look, seldom have they impressed the contest judges enough to make the finals.

Hemingway Day’s has been going on for 20 years and I can’t even imagine how many sheep have given up their wool in that time.  In there defense, in the last few years the owners at Sloppy Joe’s finally added air-conditioning. 

From: http://www.lostgeneration.com/

YMCA World War I Beret

YMCA Ladies were sent overseas to help bring a glimmer of American home life into the trenches in France and Germany.  YMCA workers were attached to specific divisions and were tasked with putting on events, providing comforts of home, and entertaining the US soldiers with music and reading material.  Interestingly enough, female YMCA workers were only selected from a pool of women ranging in age from 25-45 with a few older exceptions.  No women whose parents were born in an enemy country could serve and women who were British or Canadian could not be sent to France.  The YMCA was often criticized for price gouging US soldiers when charging fees for cigarettes, shaving material and everyday odds and ends.

This YMCA woman associated with the 9th Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Division.  The uniforms for the female YMCA workers was designed by Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt and was a gray-green in color with a French horizon-blue collar.  The pair of US triangles on the upper collar lapel were embroidered in silk and sported red-edged details.  This particular woman is wearing an incredibly rare beret stye hat with a felt YMCA patch attached.

Mister Mort

I found some great portraits on the web site of Mister Mort. Who is Mister Mort? All it says in the "About" section is: Mister Mort is MisterMort.com...

His bow tie is from The Grolier Club of New York, the oldest book club:

Adrien "Yellow" Patenaude

Adrien Patenaude, the man who will be remembered as Adrien “Yellow,” for his signature use of the color in all of his paintings (and yellow beret!), passed away last May. 

Adrien drew inspiration from his surroundings and the many artists whose works have moved him throughout the years; van Gogh, Cezanne, Monet, Kahn and Homer. He felt that his schooling has played a large roll in expanding his perception of the environment and has helped him to see more than just the reality of the view.

Adrien was drawn to shapes and shadows, moonlit objects and the color in landscapes. 

As he strived to improve his understanding of his subject matter, he finds that color has a large part to play in the perception of things. He felt that "The Presentation of Color is an Expression in Art."

Sheep Cheese from the Pyreneen Mountains

Some things hardly change. The way sheep cheese is produced in Béarn for example. Like centuries ago, beret wearing shepherds still take their flocks to the high mountain pastures in summer, accompanied by their faithful shepherd dogs.

The farms in Béarn and the Basque Country are relatively small: the herds range from 200 to 400 ewes and is conducted on a surface of 20 to 30 ha.

From May, the first flocks move to the pastures . These are the summer pastures. The sheep come down in the fall.

Conditions for the shepherds have changed over the years. Mobile phones, solar powered elictricty in far off areas and housing that is a long way from the picturesque stone sheds of a century ago.

Sheep farming plays a major role in the maintenance of 145,000 hectares of mountain land. The production season begins with the lambing. Lambs for meat are sold after 3 weeks under the red label "lamb from the Pyrenees". Most sheep are of old local breeds.

Then begins the period of milking, twice a day. Each sheep gives approximately one liter of milk per day or 100 liters per milking season.

Once the deals done, the cheese comes into play, either on the farm (by the shepherd – or his wife) or in a cheese factory.

Click here for a detailed web site full of information and pictures of Pyreneen sheep cheese making.

Magic in the Moonlight

Magic in the Moonlight is Woody Allen’s latest comedy. The film stars (beret wearing) Emma Stone and Colin Firth and is set in the 1920s on the French Riviera. The film was released on July 25, 2014.

Chinese conjuror Wei Ling Soo is the most celebrated magician of his age, but few know that he is the stage persona of Stanley Crawford, a grouchy and arrogant Englishman with a sky-high opinion of himself and an aversion to phony spiritualists' claims that they can perform real magic. Persuaded by his life-long friend, Howard Burkan, Stanley goes on a mission to the Côte d'Azur mansion of the Catledge family: mother Grace, son Brice, and daughter Caroline. He presents himself as a businessman named Stanley Taplinger in order to debunk the alluring young clairvoyant Sophie Baker who is staying there with her mother. Sophie arrived at the Catledge villa at the invitation of Grace, who is convinced that Sophie can help her contact her late husband, and once there, attracted the attention of Brice, who has fallen for her head over heels. 

From his very first meeting with Sophie, Stanley dismisses her as an insignificant pip-squeak who he can unmask in no time, scoffing at the family's gullibility. To his great surprise and discomfort, however, Sophie accomplishes numerous feats of mind-reading and other supernatural deeds that defy all rational explanation, leaving him dumbfounded. Before long, Stanley confesses to his beloved Aunt Vanessa that he has begun to wonder whether Sophie's powers could actually be real. 

If they were to be true, Stanley realizes that anything might be possible, even good, and his entire belief system would come crashing down. What follows is a series of events that are magical in every sense of the word and send the characters reeling. In the end, the biggest trick this film plays is the one that fools us all.

Alberto Giacometti's one Beret

Alberto Giacometti (1901 – 1966) was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. 

In my wishful thinking (being a great admirer of Giacometti's work) I expected Giacometti to be a beret wearer, but the only evidence I found of him ever having worn a beret, is this youthful self portrait.

Still, good enough reason to post a few more pictures of his work (and I'll keep on searching).

Mary Quant

Mary Quant OBE, FCSD, RDI (born 11 February 1934) is a fashion designer and British fashion icon. She became an instrumental figure in the 1960s London-based Mod and youth fashion movements and a strong supporter for the beret (and then British manufacturer KANGOL).

She was one of the designers who took credit for the miniskirt and hot pants, and by promoting these and other fun fashions she encouraged young people to dress to please themselves and to treat fashion as a game.

Mary Quant Dress 1966

Ernestine Carter, an authoritative and influential fashion journalist of the 1950s and '60s, wrote: "It is given to a fortunate few to be born at the right time, in the right place, with the right talents. In recent fashion there are three: Chanel, Dior, and Mary Quant."

Ari Seth Cohen's Advanced Style

Ari Seth Cohen roams the streets of New York looking for the most stylish and creative older folks. Respect your elders and let these ladies and gents teach you a thing or two about living life to the fullest. 

Advanced Style offers proof from the wise and silver-haired set that personal style advances with age.

As he was taking this woman's photograph a few of her (and his) neighbours gathered around to tell him that this lady always looks wonderful and always has the best hats. 

Issey Miyake's Berets

Issey Miyake ( 1938) is a Japanese fashion designer. He is known for his technology-driven clothing designs, exhibitions and fragrances. 

He studied graphic design at the Tama Art University in Tokyo, graduating in 1964. After graduation, he worked in Paris and New York City. Returning to Tokyo in 1970, he founded the Miyake Design Studio, a high-end producer of women's fashion. As of 2012, he is one of the co-Directors of 21 21 DESIGN SIGHT, Japan's first design museum.

The beret jacket pictured here is an early 1990's Issey Miyake unique jacket adorned with strategically placed black and red beret hats. Fashioned of wool with geometric motif placement of hats. Hip pockets hidden by the berets. 

A longer version (seen in gray) is part of The Costume Institute's permanent collection.

Thomas Dolby

Beret wearer Thomas Dolby (born Thomas Morgan Robertson; 1958) is an English musician and producer best known for his 1982 hit "She Blinded Me with Science", and 1984 single "Hyperactive!". 

He has also worked extensively in production and as a session musician, as a technology entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, and as the Music Director for the TED Conference. He is currently a Professor of the Arts at Johns Hopkins University.

The Worker

Whatever the tool, shovel or guitar, 
It is not the work that makes the man, 
But the love he sows in his Art ...

Photo by Michel Lâg-Chavarria.

Book Covers and Berets

Following yesterday's CD-covers, what better than some book-covers..?